A Technical History of the SEI

or asynchronous networked computer hardware. The annotated architecture model supports analysis
of functional and nonfunctional properties, including schedulability, safety, and reliability, as
well as code generation of runtime executives integrated with application components. Derivation
of different analytical models from the annotated architecture model assures consistency of analysis
results. The ability to model and analyze the architecture early and throughout the development
at increasing levels of fidelity leads to an incremental approach of end-to-end system validation
and verification.
The Consequence: Architecture-Centric Engineering Beyond
Documentation
Several industry initiatives initiated pilot projects as soon as the AADL standard was published.
The first industrial initiative using AADL as a core technology was the ASSERT project, led by
the European Space Agency in cooperation with 29 partners, from 2004-2007. The initiative developed
a tool chain for the model-based analysis and auto-generation of satellite systems from
these reference architecture models and applied it to two families of satellite systems.
In 2005, a five-year industry initiative of 28 partners, led by Airbus and called TOPCASED, developed
an industrial open source tool infrastructure for model-based engineering of embedded
systems, with OSATE as part of the tool suite (http://www.topcased.org/). In 2006, the three-year
ITEA SPICES initiative of 15 research and industrial partners began to develop a model-based engineering
method that integrates modeling in CORBA Component Model (CCM) and AADL for
analysis and auto-generation into SystemC.
From 2008-2011, the COMPASS Project (http://compass.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/), an international
research project funded by the European Space Agency, developed a theoretical and technological
basis and approach for the system-software co-engineering. This co-engineering approach
focused on a coherent set of specification and analysis techniques evaluating system-level correctness,
safety, dependability, and performability of on-board computer-based aerospace systems.
These techniques have significantly improved the reliability of modern and future space missions.
Since 2008, under the umbrella of the Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute (AVSI)—a consortium
of aerospace companies, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Embraer, and a number
of suppliers, including BAE Systems, Rockwell Collins, Honeywell, GE Aviation, as well as
the FAA, NASA, and the DoD—started the multi-phase System Architecture Virtual Integration
(SAVI) initiative to establish a architecture-centric, model-based “integrate then build” practice
throughout the lifecycle. SAVI uses a multi-notation model repository approach that assures
model consistency and interchange based on industry standards without forcing participants into
the same tool set. For the proof-of-concept phase, AADL and OSATE were chosen as key technologies
for a case study to (1) analyze multiple quality attribute dimensions at several levels of
fidelity on a multi-tier aircraft model, and to (2) illustrate the ability to support integrator/supplier
interactions through architecture model interchange via a model repository [Redman 2010]. SAVI
is in the process of performing shadow projects within member companies and establishing buy-in
from commercial tool venders into the SAVI approach.
CMU/SEI-2016-SR-027 | SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE | CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY 55
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